If you understand what gun control is, no one is for gun control. No one is actually advocating that there be no guns. In order for there to be no guns in the hands of citizens, there have to be guns, or at least some other mechanism of applying force in the hands of government. ~Adam Kokesh

The Senate only voted on amendments today. The real bill is S.649 and it should get a vote tomorrow, but there is some speculation that Harry Reid might table it for now so he can bring it up again in the next Congress (not really sure how that works).

The Grassley-Cruz amendment also failed today. It was a total rewrite of the Schumer bill (S.649) with a lot of pro-gun legislation, so we kinda lost on that one (52-48 against).

Anyway, I fully expect gun grabbers on both sides of the aisle to keep pushing at least into 2014 when they have to shift focus onto midterm elections. They just have to be more creative now. I'm sure we've only seen the beginning of the dirty fighting.

Obama was pissed!

Last edited by Data; 04-17-2013 at 08:46 PM.
Reason: did kinda lost durrr

if 90% of the people want somethign then the senators would vote with that majority to ensure they got re-elected, wouldn't they?

Actually, no. Its less about voting with the people, and more about voting with the money. Politicians don't get elected just cause they would make good politicians. They get elected because they spend money. Im not sure if theres any money in gun control, but there certainly money for politicians who oppose it.

That said I don't have a clue what the opinion split is like in this country. The vocal minority is very very vocal, it really clouds things.

Saw a bit of Feinstein's presentation today, that ***** is bat**** insane. She just randomly makes stuff up. Like pistol grips allow you to spray multiple people with bullets and collapsable stocks are dangerous.

Actually, no. Its less about voting with the people, and more about voting with the money. Politicians don't get elected just cause they would make good politicians. They get elected because they spend money. Im not sure if theres any money in gun control, but there certainly money for politicians who oppose it.

That said I don't have a clue what the opinion split is like in this country. The vocal minority is very very vocal, it really clouds things.

billionmayor bloomberg by himself spent as much money as the NRA for all of this. bloomberg funds a lot of anti-gun campaigns. there's as much money in anti-guna s there is pro-gun. the difference is whether it comes from one guy's pockets or from the donations of millions of people. either way there is money on both sides, so i dont think that's really the case here.

billionmayor bloomberg by himself spent as much money as the NRA for all of this. bloomberg funds a lot of anti-gun campaigns. there's as much money in anti-guna s there is pro-gun. the difference is whether it comes from one guy's pockets or from the donations of millions of people. either way there is money on both sides, so i dont think that's really the case here.

Forbes currently lists New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the 13th richest billionaire in the world, with a net worth of $27B. Bloomberg, co-chair of pro-gun control organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns, spent $13.7M during the 2012 election cycle, including the entire $10M collected by the Independence USA PAC, which Open Secrets calls ***8220;liberal.***8221;

Bloomberg recently spent another $12M on a multi-state advertising campaign, attempting to influence representatives to vote for pending federal gun-control legislation. But while promoting greater restrictions for the average American, Bloomberg***8217;s police guards received ***8220;special permission***8221; to carry guns while in relatively gun-free Bermuda:

The mayor also takes along a police detail when he travels ***8230; the city pays their wages while they are there, as it does whether Mr. Bloomberg is New York or not. Guns are largely forbidden in Bermuda ***8212; even most police officers do not use them ***8212; but the mayor***8217;s guards have special permission to carry weapons.

Feinstein hasn***8217;t expressed concern over Bloomberg using his wealth to influence local elections or federal legislation.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the gun manufacturers***8217; trade association, contributed $34,000 to federal candidates***8217; campaigns in 2012. Open Secrets also reports that the NSSF spent $1,130,000 on lobbying in 2011-2012 and a total of $51,990 in PAC money during the 2012 election cycle. According to their ***8220;2012 Economic Impact Report,***8221; the firearms and ammunition industries employ 99,820 people. This averages out to $12.18 per person in total political spending for the 2012 election cycle.

The NSSF estimates that the entire firearms and ammunition industry generated about $6 billion in revenue for 2012. If these companies were combined into one, it would rank around 410 on the Fortune 500 list.

The NRA currently has almost 5 million members, according to NRA sources. During the 2012 election cycle, the NRA spent a total of $22.7M on federal politics: $1.1M in direct campaign contributions, $5.5M on lobbying, and $16.2M in PAC money, which included another $1.5M in campaign contributions. Assuming ***8220;almost 5 million***8221; is closer to 4.9M members, the NRA spent about $4.64 per member on federal politics during the last election cycle. Feinstein apparently believes that some Americans have more First Amendment rights than others, with net worth being a major criterion:
* Advertising to promote proposed federal gun control

According to Feinstein***8217;s ***8220;money equals influence***8221; criterion, Michael Bloomberg, one of the wealthiest people in the world, spent nearly as much as five million Americans to convince Congress to limit our civil right of self-defense.

If millions of Americans band together into one organization that represents their interests, and it spends $4.64 per person to advance those interests, that***8217;s a ***8220;threat***8221; to the legislative process. But if one wealthy person spends over $24 million to advance Feinstein***8217;s interests? That***8217;s democracy in action.

This is all very curious, because the Oxford English Dictionary defines democracy as:

A form of government in which the power resides in the people and is exercised by them either directly or by means of elected representatives; a form of society which favors equal rights, the ignoring of hereditary class distinctions, and tolerance of minority views.

Considering that there are 100 million gun owners in America, the civil right of self-defense isn***8217;t even a minority view. Democratic Senator Feinstein***8217;s ***8212; and rich ***8220;liberal***8221; Michael Bloomberg***8217;s ***8212; real message: ***8220;How dare you oppose my will?***8221;